Sled attachment



July 7, 1925. 1,545,442

J. W. NOVAK SLED ATTACHMENT Filed Jan. 10,4923

[1w/EN me [Il/774155356: I l

. DY. 5 mm Patented July 7, 1925.

JOHN WL novAK,j on ofnvmglvp" @ma snnn ATTACHMENT.

Application fifleclvfanuary 10, 1923. Serial2 No; *$115,806. "f

Tov all whom it may concern.'

Be itl known that I, JOHN TW.y NovAK, a citizen of tlieUnited States, and a resident of' Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Sled Attachment, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

rIhis invention relates to improvements in sled attach-ments, and. more particularly 'to improved means for controlling the move nient of the sled` either to steer the same,4 ert'o'f exert a: braking action to-i stoptheffino-v mentum or movement oft-he' sled', `an object ofthe invention being tofp'rovirde" 'an' ifm-v proved construction and arrangement of controlling means, which can be atta'chedte any ordinary sled, which can he operated while lying flat' upon` the sled, or while-in av sitting posture on thesled, and-which Vwill function to'- permitwa perfect control of the movement ofthe sled inY accordance with the; desire of the operator. 1 Y

Children i'n coastingv `usually lie Vproneupon the sled andA steer'tlie` sled by 'means of thet'oes" bearing lupon the ground. This results in wearing out the shoes, and is only partially effective, and it is the purpose of my invention to provide an attachment which will prevent this injurious wear of the shoes and which at the same time will be entirely effective in operation, and by applying both prongs, cause the sled to stop, and prevent accidents.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations, and arrangement of parts as will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure l is a view in side elevation of a sled showing my improved attachment in operative position thereon.

Figure 2 is a view in longitudinal section through the center of the sled, taken on the line 2-2, of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a top plan view.

Figure 4 is a view in vertical transverse section on the line 1re-t, of Figure l.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section illustrating the supporting means for resisting the rearward movement of the prongs 9;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view in section on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

representsa sled which may be of any desiredconstruction and whiclli ils provided` with 'runners l secured to! the body, or frame of the-sled i-nany approved manner.

It` is to be understood that my invention.- is not-limitedto any particular constructifonof sled, but `may beattached. tosany` construction of sledand add but little addi tionallcostnto the same.r i. i L.

2f, represent apair of levers which arel fu-lcrnnfred between their ends onwfboltsxor studs `3 supported in brackets fl depending from the sideY rails? of the sled, and fixed in any approved manner thereto.

Each lever 2 is preferably of angle. iron strengthened by' a depending li-Tg5.y with a trussrod orbar (Sfprojzecte'd across the same andfixed at its endstot'lii'e'end portions of` the lever.

A Springs belts- 3, and-.ati one end bearagaifnstthe sled and at their othlerfendfs are liooled` over the forward! portions? of the levers Q'fas shown atI 8, to exert a downward pressure on ,the forward portions f' of .1 the; lever and elevate the rear portions thereof which is their nor` mal position.

At the rear ends of the levers 2, I provide downwardly projecting prongs 9 which are strengthened by gui-desi@ fixed tothe sled runners, and these guides are of such are coiled about `the studs or ashape as to receive the prongs and resist .Y

rearward bending action, yet all-ow free arcuate movement as may be desired.

It is of course to be understood that there is sufficient spaced relation between the prongs 9 and the guides 10 to allo-w the prongs to freely move with the levers moving on the fulcrums 8, Furthermore, this spaced relationship permits a certain amount of flexing or resiliency tothe prongs which is desirable but acts as a means foi' limiting'rearward flexing movement when such movement might otherwise tend to break the prongs. Y

The prongs 9 are normally maintained with their lowery ends in a plane above the lower surfaces of the runners l and are forced downwardly into engagement with the snow or ice by a fulcruming action of the levers.

The forward ends of the levers 2 are located adjacent the forward ends of the runners 1, andare preferably made cylindrical and constitute handles l1 at their forward ends so that the operator lying prone upon the sled can, with his hands, manipulate the levers as may be desired.

To permit the levers to be operated While the rider is in a sitting posture, I provide a pair of handles 12 pivotally connected to the sled, and having cams or turn buttons 13, at their inner ends engaging above the rear portion of the sled, so that yby turning these handles 12 or exerting downward pressure thereon, the levers will be caused to fulcrum to project the-prongs into the snow or ice.

In operation, while coasting, the ridercauses the levers 4 to move independently or simultaneously either by a movement of the forward ends of the levers, or by the action of the handles 12, in accordance with his posture on the sled.- If he desires to turn to the right, he causes the prongy 9 at the right side. of the sled to be projected downwardly, and if he desires to turn to the left, he causes the prong 9 at the left ofthe sled to be projected downwardly. Ifhe desires to decrease the speed or to stop altogether, he causes both prongs to be .projected simultaneously into the snow or ice.

By reason of an attachment of this character perfect steering control of the sled is had, and furthermore, a perfect braking action is had which not only results in a controlling of the action of the sled for the ease and comfort of the rider, but is in reality a safety device to prevent accidents and save life. l Y e Various slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangement of parts described without departing from my invention, and hence I' do not limit myself to the precise details set forth, but consider myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly Vfall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:-

1. The combination with a sled, of a pair of levers fulcrumed between their ends and positioned longitudinally of the sled, prongs at the rear ends of the levers, springs normally holding the prongs in elevatedl position, the forward ends of the levers consti* tuting handles, other Yhandles pivotally connected to the sled at the rear of the lever fulcrums, and devices on the last-mentioned handles whereby when said handles are turned the prongs willbe depressed.

2.v An attachment for. sleds, comprising a pair of levers fulcrumed between their ends and positioned longitudinally of the sled l adjacent the runnersy thereof, guides fixed to the sled, downwardly projecting prongs at the rear ends of the levers movable in said guides, springs on the fulcrums of the levers engaging the levers and the sled, andk normally maintaining the prongs in elevated position, handles at the forward ends of the levers adjacent the forward portions of the runners, pivoted handles adjacent the rearl of the sled at the sides thereof, and devices movable with said handles and engaging the rear portions of the levers.

JOHN W. NOVAK. 

